Weedless or anti-snagging fish hooks employing spring guards have been known in the prior art for some time, as exemplified by U.S. Pat. Nos. 859,045; 3,221,437; 3,357,125; 3,497,988; and others. A problem relating to weedless hooks which has never been completely solved or satisfactorily solved relates to the choice of the proper degree of spring tension in the guard. The spring tension must be sufficient to resist snagging and if the tension is too light, the guard will open prematurely and allow snagging on weeds or other objects prior to a strike during fishing. On the other hand, if guard tension is excessive, it will effectively prevent snagging but may be too strong to depress or open properly at the moment of strike and thus the fish is not caught. It has been impossible in the prior art to achieve perfect balance in these respects.
One proposed solution to the problem which does work properly is disclosed in the Jester U.S. Pat. No. 3,357,125. In this patent, a part of the fishing line is attached directly to the spring guard so that at the moment of strike the fisherman may jerk the line and assist the guard in opening. Thus, the depressing and opening of the guard in the Jester patent is not wholly dependent on the biting action of the fish. The Jester arrangement allows a guard to be employed with sufficient spring tension to resist premature opening and snagging on weeds and other foreign matter.
However, there is a recognized defect in the Jester approach wherein the fishing line must be attached to the spring guard. The construction is more complicated and there is an additional section of line extending between the hook shank and guard which can be caught or snagged on some object. The principal difficulty, however, with the Jester structure is that the lure will sometimes be pulled against an obstruction on the bottom of a lake and the guard will be opened due to line tension and a hang up will occur, sometimes requiring the entire rig to be severed and a new one installed.
The present invention has for its object to completely solve the above-stated problem or defect in the prior art by a totally new approach and a new mode of operation. The invention allows a much stiffer or stronger spring guard to be employed, and the guard is formed to provide a unique camming action with the mouth of the fish at the moment of strike, and which action can be enhanced by jerking the line at the instant when the strike is noted by the fisherman. By this means, the faithful depression or opening of the guard will occur at the strike without the necessity for attaching the line to the guard in order to assist opening as in the Jester patent. Thus, by a very simple arrangement involving a reshaping of the spring guard, the invention completely satisfies the dilemna heretofore not satisfied in the art, namely, the provision of a sufficiently strong guard to effectively resist snagging, and a guard which will faithfully open when the fish strikes to assure barb exposure and consequently a catch.
Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent during the course of the following description.